16. Chapter 16
Grace
“Can we get the mother of the groom and the groom’s siblings over here, please?” The photographer held up her hand and snapped her fingers, ushering us into a posed line in front of an elegant fountain. Pink satin hugged my curves, brushing over my skin while I listened to directions.
“Where’s your date, Gracey?” Aurora asked, sliding in front of Giaco. He placed his arm protectively around her.
“Yeah, Gracey—where’s this date?” he asked. The butterflies in my stomach excited to see Connor waged war with the anxiety gripping my chest, dreading the moment my brothers would recognize him. Maybe I should’ve warned them.
I chuckled dryly. “He’ll be here soon.”
The photographer’s camera clicked several times before she put her hand up. “Okay, just the bride and groom with the groom’s mother now.” We all stepped out of the frame, leaving my mom, Ronan, and Nellie behind.
Nellie blushed pinker than the white and pink bouquet she hugged to her. Every few minutes, I’d catch her and Ronan looking at each other, and when they did, it was like the rest of us didn’t exist. When they did, all I could think about was Connor.
“And now, just the ladies, please!” The photographer worked quickly to pose us the way she wanted.
“You look so beautiful,” I said, sliding in next to Nellie and wrapping my arm around her. We all smiled while the photographer took some basic shots.
“Now, come on. Act like you like each other. Bride, tell them something that will shock them!” The photographer winked while Nellie blushed. She didn’t get a chance to say anything before Giaco’s voice boomed.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked. We all looked in his direction, and I gasped. I stepped away from the photo, holding my pink satin skirt up while I hurried over. Behind me, Nellie and Aurora exchanged confused looks.
Connor fixed his sleeve and smiled when he saw me. “I’m here for the wedding.”
“I don’t think so.” Giaco put his hand out to stop him from taking another step forward; next to him Ronan looked ready to ruin his tux. I swallowed but the nervous lump in my throat was embedded there permanently.
“I was invited,” Connor clarified, sticking his arm out when I got closer.
“By whom?” Ronan demanded, unable to resist the urge, even on his wedding day.
“By me,” I said, sliding into his arm and settling against his side. He put his hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention to his face. I could feel the infuriated stares of my brothers and the confused looks from onlookers, but suddenly, I felt more comfortable. “Hi,” I said quietly.
Connor winked, tightening his hold on me. “Hey there, little pearl.” He kissed the top of my head, and I thought my brothers might explode. The tension in the venue certainly did.
“What the hell are you thinking, Grace? This monster is your date?” Giaco’s face was turning an angry red—one even Aurora wouldn’t step in to help subside. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Will you knock it off? Connor is a really great guy, and I can date whoever I want!” My heart pounding against my ribcage tried to convince me that wasn’t true.
Giaco stepped forward, towering over me with all the responsibility he gathered from our father to take care of the family. “Not when the person you want to date is dangerous.”
I puffed my chest out, stepping forward from Connor. “You’re dangerous!” I reminded them, and when Giaco clenched his hand at his side, I thought he might slap me. He had never done it before, but his anger twitched in his muscle like a reflex.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing, Grace?” Ronan asked, stepping between Giaco and me, talking as if we weren’t surrounded by people. Next to him, Enzo bounced from foot to foot, like he was ready for a wedding day brawl that wasn’t going to happen.
“Of course, I do! Much against your insistence, I’m not a child anymore.
I’m a grown woman with my own life, and I can make my own decisions.
You may not like Connor, but I happen to like him a lot!
” I didn’t stop the volume of my voice from getting louder.
I wasn’t paying any attention to the stares from anyone around me.
“You may be the boss, but neither of you are the boss of me. You do not get to tell me who I can and cannot date! Nellie and Aurora both met him, and they liked him.”
Nellie stepped forward in a flutter of white tulle and floral perfume, with Aurora right behind her. Aurora put her hand around Giaco’s waist, adding the other to his forearm so her arms were around him. It didn’t slow his breathing.
“Okay, okay, okay.” Nellie put one hand on my shoulder and the other on Ronan’s chest, looking at him with a pleading stare to help her.
He continued to glare at Connor, but his shoulders relaxed.
“Grace, I think everyone just wants to make sure you are safe,” she said, looking around at all of us before she pinpointed her attention to Giaco and Ronan.
“But this is not the place for fighting, and today is not the day. Save it for another time. Are we clear?”
Giaco nodded curtly, and Ronan agreed, wrapping his arms around Nellie. “You’re right, sugar. I’m sorry. Today is all about you and me.” He kissed the top of her forehead with gentleness before he shot a warning look at Connor. “I’ll be watching you, Murphy.”
“Good,” Connor said, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me against him.
“Then you can watch me treat your sister like a queen. Starting with this,” he said just before he kissed me.
His lips were comforting on mine, but I could feel the stares on us until he pulled away.
Then, he ran his fingers over the strand of pearls that draped over my collarbones.
“You look breathtaking, little pearl. I’ve got something for you. ”
“For me?” My family started to walk away, scattering for more photos and to greet guests. Even while they walked, they kept a close eye on Connor’s every move as he reached into his jacket pocket.
He nodded, pulling out a small, thin box. “Mhmm. I saw these and thought of you.”
Connor opened the box, revealing a strand of perfectly round, shiny pearls. I touched the ones on my neck—the ones I was never really sure were real. “What are these for?” I asked while Connor handed me the box.
“I wanted you to have something that made you think of me every time you touch your chest like that.” Connor nodded at my fingers resting against my collarbone, the tips rolling over each individual pearl. I blushed, becoming more aware of the audience.
When I took it from him, he reached around me and unfastened the necklace I wore, letting it drop into his hand.
He tucked them in his pocket before he took the new pearls back from me.
A smile pulled at his lips, telling me he didn’t care about the glares he was getting from my brothers and their friends.
He leaned forward, placing the new pearls around my neck and following them over my collarbone with the tips of his fingers.
“I love them,” I said. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Yes I did.” Connor pressed a lite kiss to my lips. “This way, you know you’re mine.”
The wedding was beautiful, and by the time Nellie was walking down the aisle, Giaco and Ronan had mostly stopped glaring at me.
But it didn’t last long. We were only seconds into the reception before we were the subjects of yet another stare down.
At least Ronan had given up on the fight, and it was mostly Giaco and Enzo staring daggers.
“Your family hates that you brought me here,” Connor said, twirling me in a circle before pulling me back to him and swaying with the music. We danced between onlookers in expensive Italian suits that would be sure to lecture me later.
“They definitely do,” I said, but still, I was drawn to the warmth of his scent and the comfort of his body against mine. Looking into his golden eyes, I cared less about how much trouble I was in. “They’ll get over it, though. It’s not up to them who I date, and I trust you.”
“You trust me, little pearl?” Connor asked with a wink I felt in my chest. “What if you shouldn’t?
Maybe your brothers are right. Maybe I’m a dangerous man.
Maybe I’ll learn all your favorite things and make them taste like me.
Sunsets will never look the same, and when you hear this song, you’ll hear my voice.
” He leaned closer to me. “You’ll feel my breath on your neck. ”
I shivered. “Maybe it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Connor put his hand firmly on my lower back, dipping me.
My leg popped up off the floor while he bent me back, and, as the song ended, he just held me there and looked at me.
Then, he stood me upright—my heel clicked against the tile, the satin fell back over my legs, his hand moved back up my back, and I felt the world spin quickly in the opposite direction.
I looked around us at the rest of the wedding.
A few men in suits continued to stare at us; every few minutes, Giaco pulled his eyes away from Aurora and looked over with some sort of unspoken warning for Connor to watch himself before he softened again.
Ronan and Nellie danced in a blissfully-unaware-of-everyone-else newlywed state while my mom watched with tears streaming down her cheeks and a grin on her face.
“Maybe I’m the one in danger, hmm?” Connor chuckled. I scrunched my nose, biting back a grin and taking his hand.
“Let’s go,” I said, tugging and leading him through the reception without turning to see who was watching us go.
“Where are we going?” Connor asked when I led him past the bar and through the double doors at the back of the room that opened to a hallway.
I turned around, continuing to walk backward and not letting go of his hand. “I just wanted you to myself for a second. Is that okay?” When I spotted a small alcove in the wall, I pulled him aside, sliding into it and stifling my giggles. I grabbed his jacket, pulling him toward me and kissing him.